MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguayan organic beef, processed in Brazil successfully shipped to US

The organic meat comes from animals fed exclusively on pasture, free of synthetic fertilizers, anabolic hormones, and growth stimulants, Marfrig said in a statement.

The Brazilian food processing corporation Marfrig announced that it started to process organic meat at its unit located in Hulha Negra, in Rio Grande do Sul, (Southern Brazil) with raw material coming from the company’s plant in Uruguay.

The organic meat comes from animals fed exclusively on pasture, free of synthetic fertilizers, anabolic hormones, and growth stimulants, Marfrig said in a statement.

The product also has a lower level of intramuscular fat and cholesterol, which, according to the company, leads to a healthier diet.

The first shipment of organic meat arrived at Hulha Negra in August 2022. After processing at the Rio Grande do Sul plant, the protein is redirected to the international market. In September 2022, and to full satisfaction, the company made the first shipment of this product to the United States, one of the largest consumers in the world.

In related news Brazil’s central state Mato Grosso has a list of 406 farms with traced cattle pre-approved to be exported to demanding countries, such as members of the European Union (EU).

The Agricultural Defense Institute of Mato Grosso (Indea/MT) pointed out that the state has the largest herd traced within the Brazilian System of Individual Identification of Bovines (Sisbov) of the Agriculture Ministry.

“In Brazil, there are 1,335 properties (farms) registered in Sisbov. Almost a third of them (30%) are concentrated in Mato Grosso, farms with traced animals,” says Indea.

Mato Grosso has about 33 million head of cattle, and approximately 5.7 million are in Sisbov. The animals tracked are mostly Nelore or crosses with the breed.

Despite being an attribution of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, in Mato Grosso, Indea also performs certification and qualification audits for export. In 2022 alone, 58 audits were carried out.

“All properties needs to go through an audit carried out by the veterinary service of the Ministry of Agriculture and of Indea in the case of Mato Grosso. This is a requirement of the European Union. In order to maintain this qualification, periodic follow-up and a second approval are necessary,” explains Indea’s veterinarian and inspector, Aruaque Lotufo.

Finally exports of fresh, frozen, or refrigerated beef from Brazil generated US$ 756.5 million in December (22 working days), with an average revenue of US$ 34.384 million per day. The total amount exported by Brazil was 152,798 tons, with a daily average of 6,945 thousand tons. The average price per ton was US$ 4,950.80.
In comparison to December 2021, the average daily export value increased by 29.1%, the average daily exported quantity increased by 25.9%, and the average price increased by 2.6%. The data was supplied by the Ministry of Economy’s Foreign Trade Secretariat (Secex).